Dr. F. C. Thomas Allnutt is a Program Director and Biotechnology Cluster Leader in the SBIR/STTR Program (Small Business Innovative Research/Small Business Technology Transfer) at the National Science Foundation.  The SBIR/STTR program provides grant funding to small businesses on commercially relevant projects in Information Technology, Biotechnology, Electronics, Chemical Technology, and Advanced Materials research.  A goal of the program is to leverage governmental funding to facilitate the development of high impact and commercially viable products that might otherwise not be attempted due to the level of risk required by the small business.  Dr. Allnutt comes out of the small business community where he spent over seventeen years.  He was an early employee of Martek Biosciences Corporation where he was a Research Director for twelve years.  He later moved to Advanced BioNutrition Corporation, a start up company as the third employee and Vice President of Research & Development.  Both companies are located both in Columbia, MD.  He joined the National Science Foundation in 2006.  Dr. Allnutt’s area of expertise is algal biotechnology but he has acquired broad knowledge of related areas and the business of science as he worked to commercialize algal products in a variety of fields.  He is the inventor on over 17 patents filed or pending and has published over 25 papers in peer reviewed journals.